Vineyard
As a virtual rock quarry, Sunny Slope Vineyard’s vines were planted in holes drilled or pick-axed out of fractured stone over 20 years ago. The deep roots – a result of maturity and years of laboring for water -- combine with the warm southwest exposure to produce thick-skinned grapes which give us the concentrated flavors, inky color and extracted tannins that distinguish this vineyard.

Vintage
Vintage 2002 started wet, even before the calendar said it was 2002 - we almost had our seasonal average of rain before the New Year – with January and February being unusually dry and typically cold. We had light rain at the end of March that slowed down budbreak but without causing any major problems. Unsettled weather through spring kept things interesting. More cool weather in May extended bloom, which could have caused uneven ripening. At the end of May we were about two weeks behind 2001. Veraison began in late July, later than average, but earlier than 1998 and 1999. Moving into the final stages of the growing season we were in pretty good shape considering that our summer had been fairly mild. 2002 was a vintage won in the vineyard, beginning shortly after budbreak with shoot thinning, and on through the season with crop thinning to balance the vines and eliminate any damaged or delayed fruit. This work by our growers allowed us to bring in ripe, uniform, high quality fruit with intense flavors and nice natural acid levels.

Vinification
We harvested the Merlot selecting blocks to create a more complex and concentrated wine. Fermented in stainless steel fermentors for 14 days and then placed in French and American oak for 20 months., this wine was bottled in August 2004. Alcohol 14.5%, TA .58, pH 3.69, Residual Sugar .09.

Tasting Notes
"Gold & Best in Show" - 2005 Orange County Fair Wine Competition! This Merlot displays unusually intense and rich fruitiness (reminiscent of blackberry, plum, and blueberry), combined with subtle oak overtones (toast, tobacco, vanilla).

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